


Turbulence

by luvsanime02



Series: Navigation [7]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Gen, Language, Politics, Post-Series, Preventers (Gundam Wing), Slurs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-12-20 19:04:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11927283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvsanime02/pseuds/luvsanime02
Summary: The story about what Agent Frank Parks has been up to between Evasion and now.This is the seventh story in Navigation, a fem!Heero series.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I noted this in the tags, but I just want to say again that there are a couple of sexist slurs in this interlude, and I don't want anyone to be caught off-guard. Read safely!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gundam Wing, and am making no money off of this fic.

########

 **Turbulence**  by luvsanime02

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Chapter 1 

The last thing Frank Parks expects when he finally feels well enough to come back to work are rumors going around about him and Agent Yuy. Especially those kinds of rumors.

Oh, not that Frank realizes this is what’s going on at first. For the initial hour or two that he’s back, all Frank knows is that people are wishing him a well recovery, or saying how relieved they are that he’s alive. Agents he’s worked with for years slap his back and bring him coffee. All he sees are wide smiles and bright eyes.

It’s only around lunchtime, when Frank’s heading to the restroom to discretely take his meds without anyone watching, that he first hears the rumors.

“Gotta admit, the guy’s got balls. Going after her?”

“Hey, man, she’s hot. I’d bang her, too.”

“Still can’t believe someone finally got past that glare of hers.”

Frank might not have thought anything about their comments. Office gossip is nothing new. There are always rumors about agents getting together, or breaking up, or whatever. Sometimes, they’re even true.

The mention of that glare, though? That makes Frank pause. That's not a typical description about any of the other attractive female agents in Preventers. In fact, Frank can think of only one rather infamous agent that they’re likely to be describing.

Frank frowns, but there’s really nothing he can do about it. Rumors aren’t against the rules, and anyone that’s been through schooling knows that protesting only makes them worse, gives them credence. Just because Frank doesn’t think that Agent Yuy is the type to sleep around with a fellow agent doesn't mean that anyone else agrees with him.

After he determines that it's best to just ignore them, Frank walks into the bathroom and past them, and into a stall. After a moment, he comes to the uncomfortable realization that all three of the men have gone quiet. He doesn’t know why, exactly. Do they just not want to continue talking in front of someone else? Frank doubts it. From what they were saying, it sounds as though the rumors are already widespread throughout the building.

So it’s just Frank that they don’t want to mention Agent Yuy in front of. Well, Frank supposes that makes sense. After all, they have to know that he was just on a mission and had his life saved by Agent Yuy. That’s not the sort of thing that tends to make someone inclined to tolerate malicious rumors.

Still, why are they so worried about Frank overhearing? Do they think he’s going to run to the commander, or something? Although, now that he thinks about it, Commander Une probably would be angry if she heard the newest gossip.

Frank ignores their sudden silence, and waits until they leave the bathroom before taking his pills with some water from the sink. His leg is still throbbing. He really wants to lie down and sleep, but he feels so useless staying at home in bed while Laurie is trying to work and pay attention to him at the same time. She's been so worried about Frank ever since she got the call that he was in the hospital, and she’s got enough to do around the house without him getting in the way.

She still wants to meet with Agent Yuy, he suddenly remembers. He’ll have to ask Agent Yuy about that when he next sees her.

Frank leaves the bathroom and heads over to the cafeteria, but suddenly pauses when another thought hits him. Where is Agent Yuy? She’s been completely absent all morning. Frank assumed that she would be the type of person to at least check in on an agent who was injured while out on a mission with her, but she’s not here.

Frank’s worried about that. With the rumors taken into account, he doesn’t like the picture that’s forming in his mind. Agent Yuy hasn’t quit or anything, right?

No, that’d be ridiculous. Frank can’t even imagine the Preventers Corps without Agent Yuy as part of them. She’s probably the best agent they have.

Slowly, he makes his way into the caf, determined to buy a sandwich or something quickly so that he can rest his leg already. However, Frank barely gets halfway across the room before the prickle of eyes watching him gets to be too invasive, and he starts looking around.

Some of the agents who catch his eyes look away hurriedly, but even more of them… don’t. Many of them - other male agents, especially - are giving him significant looks and winking, or even saluting him. Every one of them seems to be in good cheer, as though inviting Frank to join them in their joke.

Frank has the uncomfortable feeling that those rumors regarding Agent Yuy also involve Frank a lot more than he might wish for, as much as he doesn’t want to believe it. Frank’s almost twenty years older than Agent Yuy. Might even be, actually; he has no idea exactly how old she is. The point is, she’s technically young enough to be his daughter, for God’s sake. Not to mention that Frank’s happily married.

Some of those agents winking at him or giving him significant looks have been over to his house. Have met his wife. Frank feels sick to his stomach. Suddenly, he’s no longer hungry. Not even caring how it looks, Frank turns around and leaves the room without buying anything.

He could be overreacting, putting the pieces together wrong. Frank hopes that’s what’s going on, actually. That’s much better than the alternative.

Why isn’t Agent Yuy at work? This question keeps coming back to him while Frank walks back to his office, paying more attention now to everyone around him. He’s the subject of several sidelong glances and amused looks along the way. Everyone’s acting like whatever's going on is all one big joke.

Laurie’s picture greets Frank when he enters his office. So does the picture of Jake and Cassie, his kids. Do his fellow agents really think that Frank’s the type of man who would throw all of that away? Who would hurt his family like this? His career?

He can’t do anything about their opinions, either, and that’s worse than all the rest of it. Protesting would only make him seem guiltier. Frank sits down and finally props up his leg, and then puts his head in his hands. He doesn’t know what to do. He has the sudden urge to call Laurie and ask her how she’s doing, to tell her about all of this, but he doesn’t want to hurt her.

She’d be even more hurt if she found out about these rumors from someone else. With a deep sigh, Frank lifts his head and pulls his phone out of his pocket. This is not how he expected today to go.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day, no one is smiling at Frank. Instead, they're muttering comments under their breaths while they give Frank harsh looks out of the corners of their eyes.

Really, he would have welcomed this kind of response yesterday. Better that than the winking and implicit approval of Frank cheating on his wife. Still, he’s understandably confused. What could have happened between yesterday and now that has changed everyone’s opinions?

It isn’t until Frank hears the new rumors about Agent Yuy that he begins to understand. The Board of Professional Review isn’t called in lightly, and the fact that she’s being formally investigated is baffling. Frank doesn’t understand how this could have happened. Surely the commander can’t blame Agent Yuy for what happened?

Whatever the reason why, the other agents have taken the news of the investigation as proof already of Agent Yuy’s guilt. Suddenly, Frank’s being looked at suspiciously. No doubt, if they really do think he’s been sleeping with Agent Yuy, they must also assume that he’s going to cover for her and lie.

He wouldn’t, not that there’s anything to lie about. Agent Yuy did nothing wrong during that mission.

Frank doesn’t like the mutterings. He can ignore them, though. Every agent that’s ever been forced to deal with the media knows how to ignore gossip that they don’t approve of. Except then their disapproval doesn’t stop with looks. Frank finds the first note taped to his computer when he comes back from his morning break.

_ Drop the slut or get out. _

He doesn’t even know how to react at first. For a few moments, Frank just stands and stares blankly at the paper. What the hell. He really can’t believe that one of his fellow agents would write something like this. After a minute, though, the shock wears off, and Frank carefully removes the note and walks back out of his office. He makes sure to maintain eye contact with anyone that crosses his path, but doesn’t notice anybody looking guilty or defiant. It seems as though whoever wrote the note didn’t stay behind to see his reaction.

Frank brings the note to Agent Po, who’s absolutely furious. She thanks him for handing it over, and orders him to bring her any others, if there are more. He doesn’t believe for one minute that this is the end of it, and neither does she.

Over the next week, if anything, it keeps escalating. His crutch is taken from his office. Frank hasn’t been using it like he should, but it’s the principle of the matter. No one will speak with him casually anymore, either, not that Frank wants to talk with them. Still, it hurts, this sudden ostracism by his coworkers.

His paperwork is coming to him late. People that are supposed to email him back suddenly aren’t. Frank isn’t sure what to do. He knows that Agent Po is aware of the problem, and has no doubt that the commander knows as well now, but that doesn’t help stop the problem. It doesn’t make everyone stop with the comments, or the coffee spills appearing across his desk, or the way he’s forced to hunt people down instead of them responding to his calls or messages. Or the notes still appearing at random times throughout his days.

Laurie suggests that he take some vacation time, but Frank won’t give them the satisfaction. These people are being malicious and petty, but that doesn’t mean Frank should leave in the middle of this mess. If nothing else, he probably needs to stick around to talk with the Board of Professional Review eventually.

Considering everything, Frank’s actually glad that Agent Yuy has been suspended, though. She doesn’t deserve to have to deal with this crap any more than he does.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“I just don’t know what to do anymore, Laurie.”

It’s been a long week since Frank came back to work. He’s been trying to stay morally above all of the talk and petty harassment, but after a whole week of ignoring the insults and looking over his shoulder, he’s pretty tired. It’s Saturday, which doesn’t always mean that Frank is at home, depending on whether or not he's been assigned a mission, but he's free this weekend.

He and Laurie are using this weekend to work on their cars, along with completing other chores around the house. They’re going to tackle the weeding, mow the backyard, and then make sure that the spot on the roof isn’t leaking into the attic again. Maybe they'll even clean out the gutters if they're feeling really productive, though neither of them is counting on it.

Just normal things that need doing, no matter how much Frank's job sucks right now. At least his leg is feeling better. Enough for Laurie to trust him with bending over and working under the hood of the car for a couple of hours, though not with climbing up onto the roof by himself.

At his complaint, Laurie looks over at him sympathetically while they're busy pulling up some weeds in the flowerbed. Bless her for not getting tired of listening to him bellyaching about his coworkers. He’s been doing it all week. “There’s nothing you  _ can _ do,” she replies.

True. That just frustrates Frank even more, though. “I wish they’d lay off already, though. Is that stupid rumor really so interesting?”

Laurie knows exactly what he’s talking about, of course. “Maybe,” she says, shrugging. “You know they might not ever stop, right?”

Frank pauses and stares at her. “What?”

The look that Laurie gives him in response is part amusement and part annoyance, although the latter emotion's clearly not directed at Frank. “Agent Yuy’s an attractive woman, right?” At his nod, she continues. “Well then, the rumors probably aren’t going to stop. People like to think that everyone, especially an attractive, smart, and talented woman, isn’t above their hormones. I’m actually surprised that she hasn’t been the subject of those kinds of rumors before.”

Well, when Laurie puts it like that, Frank can kind of understand what she's on about. Doesn’t mean he has to like it, though. “Alright, but could they go back to not hating me for something I didn’t even do? That’d be nice.”

“It would,” Laurie agrees, frowning. “I don’t get that part. Why do all of that locker room stuff the first day, congratulating you and all, and then start the petty, jealous bullshit the day after?”

Frank doesn’t have an answer. His frown is probably starting to turn permanent at this point. Laurie sighs after a moment. “Still waiting for the review board to get a hold of you?” she asks, changing the topic slightly.

He nods. “Yeah. They’re taking a lot longer with this inquiry than I thought they would.” That’s another thing that’s pissing Frank off. He wishes that they’d hurry up with everything. If the whole inquiry stops being such a big deal and they clear Agent Yuy of any wrongdoing as soon as possible, then the rumors should be old news by next week, even if they do never completely die out.

So, of course, the whole process is instead being needlessly dragged out.

Frank curses under his breath while he thinks over the whole mess once again. Laurie snorts and tells Frank that his suggestions lack creativity before offering a few of her own, and meanwhile, they both get on with the housework. Some things don’t pause, even when everything else is going to shit, and holding the ladder steady while his wife climbs up first, bitching loudly about the roof and the gutters all the while, is just one of them.

They’ll get through this together, whatever happens next.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Laurie’s right, the rumors don't stop. If anything, the whole situation gets much, much worse.

Frank tries to sit down in the caf one day next to a few friends of his. It feels like middle school all over again, the way they absolutely ignore him and then stand up, leaving the table. He can’t believe it at first. Really?

Mark, Agent Rhessler, won’t even speak to him. The guy’s been his friend for the past eight years. Maybe even his best friend. When Frank tries to corner him about everything, tries to explain that he hasn’t done anything wrong, he quickly realizes that he shouldn't have even bothered.

“I just can’t believe you’d falsify your report like that,” Mark says. He sounds angry, sounds betrayed, and the irony of that almost chokes Frank.

“I _didn’t_ ,” he says for the fourth time, angry himself now. “Christ, Mark, I didn’t cheat on my wife, and I’m not lying about what happened on that mission. Five agents are dead!”

“Yeah,” Mark replies heatedly, “and Agent Yuy, that bitch you’re protecting, is the one who got them killed!”

“The _hell_ she did!” Frank says. His hands are clenching into fists, and he can’t believe it but he wants to hit Mark right now. “That mission went to shit! It wasn't anybody’s damn fault!”

It doesn’t seem to matter. Nothing he says is getting through, and they’re both getting angrier by the second. Mark’s whole face is red, the color spreading down his neck, and his eyes are narrowed. Frank doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, but it becomes a moot point when Agent Po rounds the corner into his office.

She looks pissed as she marches over to them. Frank opens his mouth to explain, belatedly realizing that he and Mark had started shouting at each other loud enough to be heard around the whole floor, but Agent Po raises her hand, cutting him off and stepping between them.

Even though she’s shorter than they are, both of them back down hastily. “That’s enough,” she says severely, her hands coming up to rest on her hips. Frank feels like he’s a child being scolded. A glance at Mark’s rapidly paling face lets him know that the feeling’s mutual.

“I don’t want to hear any more arguments about this,” Agent Po continues, not giving them a chance to say anything in response. Not that either of them are eager to speak now that they've calmed down. “The Board of Professional Review will come to a decision, and whatever happens, it’s not your damn career on the line, either of you. Now get back to work.”

She stands there without moving until Mark leaves Frank's office. The look he sends back over his shoulder tells Frank more than words ever could that he’s not been convinced about anything, and that Frank’s just lost a good friend. That knowledge hurts much more than all of the stupid hazing he’s been going through recently.

Once Mark's gone, Agent Po sighs deeply and relaxes. The look she gives him then is extremely sympathetic. “I’m sorry you've gotten caught up in all of this,” she says. “Both of you.”

Frank nods and sits down in his chair with his own sigh, rubbing a hand over his face. “Fuck this shit,” he mutters bitterly.

Agent Po snorts in agreement, and then leaves to get back to her own work. Frank forces himself to turn his mind back onto his paperwork, trying to drive Mark’s angry words and betrayed expression out of his head.

Frank doesn’t get much work done for the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It doesn’t take long after the Board of Professional Review comes to their decision and Agent Yuy quits before Frank himself is transferred up to the colonies. He and Laurie talk it over and decide that this move is for the best anyways. Frank doesn’t like the situation, but it makes sense. Nothing’s getting better for him at the main office, so he’s hoping that the agents will be friendlier at a different branch.

For the first couple of days, everything seems fine. Everyone’s a little distant because he’s a new face, of course, but generally pleasant enough. Then, somehow, it gets around that Frank’s the guy who slept with Agent Yuy and lied during an investigation.

With the media spending weeks debating the actions of one of their most well-known agents, and the mission ending in several casualties, apparently the fallout was big news on the colonies too. Big enough that when word finally gets around about who Frank is, he receives a lot of recognition, both good and bad.

It’s so tiring. Some agents are genuinely impressed that he somehow managed to get into bed with Agent Yuy, and others are disgusted for the same reason. Either way, Frank's getting too much attention from everyone recently.

It seems the only person who’s now treating Frank like he's just another agent is Agent Chang. Which is the only reason that Frank’s somewhat grateful for his move to L4, considering that Agent Chang’s also the head of this branch office. Things would have been even more uncomfortable for Frank if he also had to take flack from his superior officer.

Of course, Agent Chang is a good friend of Agent Yuy’s, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t believe the rumors. Even more than that, though, Agent Chang seems to acknowledge that Frank is a decent person who wouldn't do something awful like cheat on his wife. Frank didn’t even realize how much he wanted that kind of acknowledgement until he received it.

Still, nothing's getting better overall. “I’m thinking about quitting,” he finally admits to Laurie one evening. It’s been six months since he transferred, and while everything’s calmed down, Frank’s still not trusted by his fellow agents, or even particularly liked. Everyone always assumes that Frank can’t be counted on, and he’s been relegated to doing a lot more paperwork and a lot less fieldwork.

Laurie squeezes his hand. “You love that job,” she points out.

Frank shrugs. “I used to,” he agrees. “Back when it was about maintaining the peace so that everyone's safer. Now? I don’t know.”

They’re silent for a bit, Laurie resting her head on his shoulder. There’s a movie on the TV screen, but Frank honestly has no idea what the plot’s about. He hasn't been paying attention.

“What do you want to do, then?” she finally asks him. "If you end up quitting?"

That’s the question, isn’t it? Frank doesn’t have a clue. All he knows is that he doesn’t want to stick it out at Preventers any longer when there’s no real reason to stay.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Agent Chang asks if Frank wants to attend a meeting, he's surprised and mildly confused, but agrees quickly enough. It’s only when he sees Agent Yuy’s face on the vid screen that Frank realizes why he was asked to come along. He’s very glad to see her looking so well, not that Frank doubted Agent Yuy's ability to land on her feet after quitting the Preventers.

Especially when she has friends in such high places, he thinks, listening with slight disbelief as Relena Peacecraft strikes a deal with Agent Chang. Agent Yuy, who Frank really has to stop thinking of like that, since she hasn’t been an agent in months, is watching the two of them argue with humor in her eyes. She’s not interfering, though, so Frank keeps quiet too.

Until Frank speaks up about coming to work for them. He’s amused and pleased to see that he's actually managed to surprise Heero Yuy. Still, she agrees that Frank coming to work for them is a good idea, and he’s so damn glad.

When they finally sign off, Agent Chang eyes him with no small amount of smugness. “You knew that I wanted to quit, didn’t you,” Frank says.

Agent Chang shrugs, but he still looks pleased. “I might have guessed correctly,” he admits. Then he fixes Frank with a rather sharp stare. “You haven’t settled into your position here.”

Frank hides a wince. It’s been that obvious, huh. “No, you’re right,” he says. “I’ve already been talking it over with my wife, about me quitting here. I just…”

“Needed something to quit for,” Agent Chang finishes for him. “And now you have it. Good.”

Frank smiles. “Thank you, sir.”

Agent Chang smiles back wryly. “Don’t thank me until after you’ve mentioned moving back Earthside to your wife.”

This time, Frank does wince, and then chuckles nervously. “I don’t even think we’ve unpacked all of the way yet,” he admits sheepishly. “The kids’ll be thrilled, though.”

They weren’t too pleased about leaving behind all of their friends in the first place, which is a nice way of saying that they’ve been as miserable on L4 as Frank has been, albeit for different reasons.

Agent Chang raises an eyebrow. “They didn’t want to come to space?”

Frank remembers suddenly that Agent Chang was born in the colonies, and likely can’t understand anyone being miserable about moving to live up here. Frank rubs the back of his head ruefully. “If we'd just been on a vacation or something, they’d have loved it, I think. But a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old moving away from all of their friends is never happy about it.” Understatement.

Agent Chang blinks, and then looks amused again. “I wouldn’t know,” he says, though what part of that he doesn’t have the context for escapes Frank. Friends when he was a kid? Moving away from his home? Having teenagers? It’s not Frank’s place to ask, but he does wonder.

“Anyway, it’ll be annoying having to move again so soon, but this will make everyone happier,” Frank says. Himself included.

“Glad to hear it,” Agent Chang says, nodding. He turns back to the paperwork on his desk, but before Frank can walk away, assuming that he's dismissed, Agent Chang picks up some papers and hands them over to Frank. There's a two-week notice form, and others for arranging to get the rest of his pay from Finances.

Frank blinks in surprise. “You really did know,” he says, marveling.

Agent Chang just laughs. “Like I said, I had a feeling. Take care of yourself, Agent Parks.”

“Frank,” he rebuts, because he’s not going to be an agent any longer.

“Frank,” Agent Chang agrees, still far too amused with the whole situation. He reaches out a hand for Frank to shake. “Good luck.”

Frank grins. “Will do, sir.”

With that, he leaves Agent Chang's office, stunned at how his life has changed so completely again just from one conference call. Hell, he’d better contact Laurie right now and let her know what’s happened. She loves surprises, but something tells Frank that she’s going to need a few days for this one to fully sink in.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Some days, it feels like Frank barely has the time to think. Others, like today, are pretty slow going. Frank only has to call up General Raimey and make sure that he’s ready for the meeting with Relena that's taking place tomorrow.

(He's been calling Relena by her first name, and Heero too, at their insistence, though it still feels odd even after months of working for them.)

Relena's slowly been wearing the general down over the past few months, Frank knows, and this meeting will be the first one that he’s consented to attend with her. It’s a great accomplishment for their goals, another politician down. Only hundreds more to go, Frank thinks wryly.

Frank loves his job, really. There’s so many different tasks all of them are trying to accomplish that his job feels less like guard duty and more like working on a collaborative project. It’s  _ fun _ , which isn’t something that Frank had ever thought he’d get to say about his work.

Even better, they’re back on Earth. For all that Frank liked living on a colony well enough, and found the differences interesting, he can’t pretend to be anything but relieved to be back planetside. If he’d ever been curious before, Frank knows now that he wants to live on Earth forever. Luckily, his family very much agrees.

There's a few more emails and messages to check through, and then walking through the security with Heero for Relena's meeting tomorrow, and then Frank gets to call it a day. He takes the time to call up Laurie and let her know, asking if she wants him to do any errands before he comes home. It's a good thing that Frank asks, he thinks with amusement, since he has to pick up Jake from basketball practice, get some groceries, and also fill up his gas tank while he's out.

Even if Frank never had a reason to thank Heero Yuy before for saving his life, he’d still have to thank her now for giving him the chance to work here, doing a job that he loves again. And for letting Frank help these two amazing women as they try and change the whole damn course of humanity.

That's definitely something worth doing with his life.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Why it takes so long for a meeting to be arranged between them, Frank doesn’t know. One day, however, it finally happens. To be honest, he’s kind of forgotten for a while now that Laurie wants to meet Heero Yuy. Then she’d quit Preventers, and his own life had been up-heaved more than once, and. Well.

So today, Frank tries to finally leave work, only to discover that his car won’t start and has to be towed to a garage. Heero’s nice enough to drive Frank home, even after they've already spent a long day arguing with some senator who thinks that he’s entitled to some bribes. Frank’s tired, and he and Heero are mostly quiet on the drive back to his place, and Frank doesn’t even think about Laurie's reaction until they arrive.

She must have just pulled into the driveway herself and seen them behind her, because suddenly she’s killing the engine and quickly walking over. “Well, _finally_ ,” she says, with a significant look at Frank.

Oh. Now he remembers. Frank waves at her sheepishly as Heero pulls in behind Laurie’s car and then turns her engine off too. “Sorry about this,” he says to Heero, because he knows her well enough by now to understand that she’ll be mildly embarrassed by what's coming next. “My wife’s been dying to meet you for ages.”

One of Heero's eyebrows quirks up in a silent question, but she nods and gets out of the Jeep. Franks waits a second before following, watching with amusement as Laurie walks over to Heero and enthusiastically shakes her hand.

“My god, I’ve been looking forward to meeting you ever since that whole mess,” Laurie says, looking absolutely thrilled. “Thank you _so_ much.”

Heero nods again. Like Frank had figured would happen, she seems slightly embarrassed but mostly alright, a faint smile appearing on her face. “I was only doing my job,” she says, which is true. Then, perhaps sensing that Laurie isn’t going to leave it at that, she adds, “You’re welcome.”

Laurie grins. “I’m just glad that Frank finally remembered to bring you around so I could thank you in person.”

Frank hides his wince. “Actually,” he admits, “it was a coincidence.”

“His car wouldn’t start,” Heero explains further. “I gave him a ride home.” She turns slightly to address Frank. “You want me to pick you up in the morning, or are you going to take the day off and see what’s up with your car?”

He shrugs. “I might as well go to the garage and talk to my mechanic first. I’ll call you from there once I know what's wrong with it.”

“Fine,” Heero agrees. She turns back towards Laurie. “I’m sorry your family got caught up in that investigation.”

She doesn’t say that it's her fault, which is good, because both Frank and Laurie would have had to admonish her. Heero didn’t do anything wrong during that mission, or the aftermath, and shouldn’t ever think that she's to blame for what happened.

"I'm sorry, too," Laurie says, and reaches out to shake Heero’s hand again. Frank’s positive that Laurie actually wants to hug Heero, but she doesn’t try. “Well, thank you again. It might have only been your job to you, but it was my husband’s life that got saved, and that means the world to me.”

Another small smile appears on Heero’s face. She waves goodbye to both of them, and then turns around and gets back into her Jeep, driving away. After she’s gone, Laurie turns to him. “She’s lovely.”

Frank knows that she's not just commenting on Heero’s appearance. He nods in agreement. “I’d never want to piss her off,” he admits freely, “but she’s actually one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

After listening for years to Heero's reputation among the Preventers Corps, Frank had been really surprised after coming to work for her and Relena to discover how genuinely kind Heero Yuy is. He’d always imagined her as some kind of hardass, to be honest, what with her record and background during the war. Instead, Heero constantly looks out for the people around her, and treats even the smallest details of her friends' daily lives as though they’re of extreme importance.

“I’m inviting her to our next barbecue,” Laurie says decisively, walking over to kiss Frank's cheek and taking hold of his hand and gently squeezing as they both start walking up the driveway and into their house.

Frank laughs. “Sounds fun,” he says. And it really does.


End file.
